Can opener



F. L. wHlTcoMB.

cANoPENER.

APPLICATION FILE-D APR. 6. i921.

Patented Sept. 19, 1922.

Patented Sept.. i9, 1922.

` FREDERICK-Lf wi-rrcoifria, onfcrlinnfoiio. f

* i CANOPIENER Application mei April e;

To all whom t mayMancera." f i Be it known that I, FREDERICK L.Wiiir MB, a citizen of the United States,resid. ing at Clyde, in theV county offflanduskyand State of Ohio,`have invented certainnew yand useful lmprovements'in CanUOpen-ers,

f at the lowest possible cost of manufacture.

, and distribution. It is also an important object of the invention to provide the most sanitary article of this character; that is to say7 an article easily cleansed, having a inin-l imum of re-entrant angles and recesses, and without interstices which catch and retainy dirt and deleterious matter.. Another object is to furnish a self-contained, integral structure having no screws, washers or other component parts which can become loosened or lost, or which may require adjustment.` Further objects are to make the sharp steel ulcrum edges integral with the blade; to provide a blade which may vbe'sharpened readily without removal., and which is well guarded to protect the user from injury; to produce an instrument of this classr for use by both right and left-handed persons;

. and to design anopener to cut vclose to the edge of a can and turn outward the cut edge of the tin, so that the contents of the .can

may be easily removed therefrom intact.

Minor objects will become apparent from the following description ofa preferred em. bodimvent of my invention, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, l in which f Fig. 1 is a front view,

Fig. 2 is a side view, and

Fig. 8 is a view of the cuttingend of the implement. f.

Fig. 4 shows the inside face of 'the steel blade member. j

Fig. 5 is an outline of the sheet steel blank vfrom which the blade member is formed.

The reference numeral l indicates the blade member of hard or alloy steel, preferably self-hardening steel, having cutting` edges 2 on each side `oi" it terminatingin a sharp point 3, and provided' with rounded /punchfouta blank frolngsheet steel ofthey *which causes the blade to rise 1921.y s'riaiiro. 459,003. 1'-

iszain Salis 0411.8 l l at the-base of the'bladefandbentoyer'at right angles to the flat sides ofthe: latter. f y .Thexblade member lis reducedinywidthat the .juncturesof the ears'4, `and lis prolonged.

gni rationing,

proper thiCkneSsLasOutlined in F ig. V5j' The ears 4 of the blank are then bentbver`4 sharplygatmight angles, and thecutting` `edges 2 beveled oli? by grinding or otherwise,

as showninFigs l to 4. j y n The completedV blade memberl` isplaced in a mold, and ametal handle'member 6 is cast in a melted condition aboutit, as shown in Figsl, 2 and-3. lAny suitable metalmay.

as ananchoring ,tang-which resembles a' dovetail, beingbroader,atits terminal than .at-itsgroot-j-A .g i the bladeniember LI first:

be employed for castingthe handle member.y p 6, but aluminum is preferred. The tangy 5 yis wholly embedded inthe casting 6, which latter is bifurcated, having a space between f its branches substantially corresponding to if shorter branch 7 has a beveled termination the breadth ofthe ears 4.A The inner and and serves as a brace and backing for vthe blade 1. The outer and longerbranch 8 ter# minates somewhat beyond the-blade point 3, and'has its innerface parallel with the face of the blade, so that rit may serveras a guide for the latter. The handle member 6 and its branches .7 and 8 are made flush l with the outer aceso the .ears`4,-. andthe curved' upper edges lof the said ears proj ect,

branches. Thus the ears;4k are backed and "9o above the bottom olf-thegroove betweenv said braced bythe metal of the casting 6, while y their curved upper'l edges remain sha'rpcorner-ed and eXposed.

In operation the 'to force the point 3 and cutting edgesf` kto pierce the can top. 'After'thebladeis'in- ,9'5 implement is first apl L pliedapproximately` vertically, the guide 8 y.

. being brought againsty the side vof the can,` 4

andthepoint3 of the blade bearing on the n. f

serted Athe handle 6 is swung "downward, i

Lthereby causing the sharp outercorner of the roundededge "of one of' the ears 4toy per edge 2'to cut ,throughv themetal of the handlewhile the latter is tilted further, l

k 7 bite into the upper edge of thecan and serve l can top, which cut may be continued if desired substantially throughout the length ot the cutting edge. The opener is then advanced in the cut, and the operation repeated until the necessary opening is made in the can. rlhe guide 8 and the rounded ulblade member provided? with ulcrum earsA disposed at right angles thereto, and having a prolonged anchoring tang, said blfa'd'e'v member being formed from a sheet steel blank; anda metal handle and an integral terminal guide member Cast in a molten state about the. tang and ears of the blade meinber.

2; A- can-opener comprising a cutting blade member provided' With fulorum ears disposed at right angles theretoand having a prolonged anchoring tang; and a metal handle member provided With an integral terminal guide proj eet-ing therefromparallel Withvand oppositely disposed to the blade member, said handle member being cast in a molten state about the tang and ears oi the blade member. l

Sfln a can-opener, albifurcated handle member, the longer branch thereof 'forming a -flat-faced guide, and Ithe `shorter branch thereof 'forming a blade brace, a cutting blade set against said brace and projecting l parallel with said guide, a pig-elongation of said blade 'forming an anchoring tang 1n said handle member, and. a pair of tule-rum ears carried by said blade disposed-one on each l side thereo-r1 at right angles "thereto, said ears being part-ly embedded in said handle member at the bottom of the groove be.

tween the said branches thereof. A,

ln testimony whereof l alifxmy signature.

FREDERlCK L. VVHITCMB. 

